For over ten years, Tottenham Hotspur supporters have rarely anticipated facing Arsenal on their turf with excitement.
In fact, it’s necessary to travel back 15 years to pinpoint the last victory Spurs secured at their arch-rivals’ stadium, even when Arsenal wasn’t as dominant as they are today.
Despite bracing for disappointment, the recent 4-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium was still a bitter pill to swallow.
Aiming to inject creativity into their attacking lineup, Spurs had been eyeing Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace during the summer transfer window.
However, a late twist saw Arsenal swoop in to claim Eze, leaving him donning their iconic red and white kit when the two teams clashed.
In the lead-up to the match, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank chose to adopt a humorous stance on the situation.
Ahead of the game, Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank attempted to make light of the situation.
“Who’s Eze?” he asked sarcastically when the question was raised in the pre-game press conference, adding slightly awkwardly after a pause, “Outstanding player. He plays for Arsenal. A team we want to beat on Sunday.”
That humorous remark would come back to haunt Frank, as it was Eze who proved to be the star of the show.
Notching the first hat-trick of his senior career, the midfielder’s poise and precision in the final third were everything Spurs lacked.
In addition to being an exceptional talent, Eze is also a remarkably humble character, as evidenced by his post-game comments.
“That is crazy. Special day, man. Special day for me, my family,” Eze told the BBC.
“I don’t think I could have ever dreamed of it. This is more special than that. I can only thank God.
“We were prepared for whatever set-up they were coming with because of the diligence of our staff. Huge credit to them, and of course, the players in our team – the ability, the talent. From whatever angle, we’re threatening to score goals.
“I probably should have scored four. I’m always trying to score, always trying to take my chances. It’s important to be relentless.”
Manager Mikel Arteta was effusive about his star midfielder’s display, which came after an international break that included travel with the national team.
“He had two days off after the England camp and after day one he wanted to train,” Arteta revealed.
“He wanted to come back and improve and ask questions. When you have such a talent and such intelligence and then you add that willingness to be better and practise, these things happen.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 23: Eberechi Eze of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on November 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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“When I spoke to Thomas Tuchel [about Eze] I said ‘how good is he?’ He said to me ‘one of the best I have seen’. I rate him one of the best in terms of talent. If we add in now his work-rate, willingness to play for this team and the joy I sense when he is in the building we have a special player.”
The last comment might surprise some people. Given the manner of Eze’s transfer, it didn’t seem like he’d been a priority, judged on how late and opportunistic the deal was.
His signing was characterized as squad-bolstering, providing much-needed cover for the influential Martin Odegaard.
But as Arsenal legend Thierry Henry pointed out, the ex-Crystal Palace man is making the position his own
“I was Martin Odegaard,” Henry told Sky Sports. “I said it this guy [Eze] is a 10 for me, he’s not a winger he’s a 10.
“He needs to be in the middle of the park he showed it tonight so that’s what you want, healthy competition.”
Former pros who know Eze well were even more enthusiastic about what the man of the match display meant.
“This is where his Arsenal career takes off”, said ex-Crystal Palace forward Clinton Morrison on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I know how much this move from Crystal Palace meant to him and what a performance from him. Best player on the pitch.”
Some pundits were honest enough to admit they hadn’t expected Eze to be the difference-maker he has proved himself to be since joining the club.
As former Liverpool fan Jamie Carragher readily admitted, he didn’t think the deal would move the dial.
“I must be honest, I think when Arsenal signed him and when I had my Liverpool hat on, and I looked at the signings Arsenal made, beside Viktor Gyokeres, it felt like a lot of them were to strengthen the squad really.
“So where Arsenal had problems the year before was when [Bukayo] Saka was out, they bought [Noni] Madueke. [Martin] Odegaard was out, they bought Eze. One of the centre-backs was out so they got a couple of centre-backs.
“It was only really Gyokeres who I felt was going to go into the team. If I am being honest I think if [Kai] Havertz was one hundred per cent fit, Havertz would probably be the centre-forward in this team I think.”
“So, when Eze came in I thought, ‘okay maybe he’s not a game-changer’, and Les [Ferdinand] knows him a lot better than me and he still said earlier on in the show ‘there’s still a lot more to come’.
“But then we still see some of his highlights this season and there are a few great goals in there and then he goes and scores a hat-trick, so apologies.
“Certainly undervalued the importance that signing was because he looks like he could make a real difference for Arsenal this season and go on and win the title.”
The truth is that last season, there were times when the Gunners lacked sparkle. They have proved themselves to be a remarkably tough unit, but they have relied heavily on goals from set pieces.
That was the case even with Odegaard in the team, but without him, it was worse.
Not so this time around. Eze has given them a cutting edge that has made the team an even more ruthless unit.
As Carragher says, it is he who could be decisive in this year’s title race.
